Children, family and the state : revisiting public and private realms

The state is often viewed as part of the impersonal public sphere in opposition to the private family as a locus of warmth and intimacy. In recent years this modernist dichotomy has been challenged by theoretical and institutional trends which have altered the relationship between state and family. This paper explores changes to both elements of the dichotomy that challenge this relationship: a more fragmented family structure and more individualised and networked support for children. It will also examine two new elements that further disrupt any clear mapping between state/family and public/private dichotomies: the third party role of the child in family/state affairs and children's application of virtual technology that locates the private within new cultural and social spaces. The paper concludes by examining the rise of the 'individual child' hitherto hidden within the family/state dichotomy and the implications this has for intergenerational relations at personal and institutional levels

Learning democracy in social work

In this contribution, we discuss the role of social work in processes of democracy. A key question in this discussion concerns the meaning of ‘the social’ in social work. This question has often been answered in a self-referential way, referring to a methodological identity of social work. This defines the educational role of social work as socialisation (be it socialisation into obedience or into an empowered citizen). However, the idea of democracy as ‘ongoing experiment’ and ‘beyond order’ challenges this methodological identity of social work. From the perspective of democracy as an ‘ongoing experiment’, the social is to be regarded as a platform for dissensus, for ongoing discussions on the relation between private and public issues in the light of human rights and social justice. Hence, the identity of social work cannot be defined in a methodological way; social work is a complex of (institutionalized) welfare practices, to be studied on their underlying views on the ‘social’ as a political and educational concept, and on the way they influence the situation of children, young people and adults in society

Inventorying geological heritage in large territories : a methodological proposal applied to Brazil

An adequate management of geological heritage by national and regional authorities presupposes the existence of a solid geosites inventory. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many countries. Most often, there is no national inventory at all or the method and criteria used to assess geosites was not adequate. This paper makes an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the most common procedures to produce a geosite inventory and proposes a methodology particularly adapted for large territories such as Brazil. Nevertheless, this methodological approach can be easily adapted to any other geographical or geological setting, promoting the characterization and conservation of the world's geological heritage.High Level Scholarship Programme of the European Union - Programme AlβanFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)

Quantitative test of the barrier nucleosome model for statistical positioning of nucleosomes up- and downstream of transcription start sites

The positions of nucleosomes in eukaryotic genomes determine which parts of the DNA sequence are readily accessible for regulatory proteins and which are not. Genome-wide maps of nucleosome positions have revealed a salient pattern around transcription start sites, involving a nucleosome-free region (NFR) flanked by a pronounced periodic pattern in the average nucleosome density. While the periodic pattern clearly reflects well-positioned nucleosomes, the positioning mechanism is less clear. A recent experimental study by Mavrich et al. argued that the pattern observed in S. cerevisiae is qualitatively consistent with a `barrier nucleosome model', in which the oscillatory pattern is created by the statistical positioning mechanism of Kornberg and Stryer. On the other hand, there is clear evidence for intrinsic sequence preferences of nucleosomes, and it is unclear to what extent these sequence preferences affect the observed pattern. To test the barrier nucleosome model, we quantitatively analyze yeast nucleosome positioning data both up- and downstream from NFRs. Our analysis is based on the Tonks model of statistical physics which quantifies the interplay between the excluded-volume interaction of nucleosomes and their positional entropy. We find that although the typical patterns on the two sides of the NFR are different, they are both quantitatively described by the same physical model, with the same parameters, but different boundary conditions. The inferred boundary conditions suggest that the first nucleosome downstream from the NFR (the +1 nucleosome) is typically directly positioned while the first nucleosome upstream is statistically positioned via a nucleosome-repelling DNA region. These boundary conditions, which can be locally encoded into the genome sequence, significantly shape the statistical distribution of nucleosomes over a range of up to ~1000 bp to each side.Comment: includes supporting materia

Of shepherds, sheep and sheepdogs?: governing the adherent self through complementary and competing ‘pastorates’

Foucault’s concept of ‘pastoral power’ describes an important technique for constituting obedient subjects. Derived from his analysis of the Christian pastorate, he saw pastoral power as a prelude to contemporary technologies of governing ‘beyond the State’, where ‘experts’ shepherd self-governing subjects. However, the specific practices of modern pastorate have been little developed. This papers examines the relational practices of pastoral power associated with the government of medicine use within the English healthcare system. The study shows how multiple pastors align their complimentary and variegated practices to conduct behaviours, but also how pastors compete for legitimacy, and face resistance through the mobilisation of alternate discourses and the strategic exploitation of pastoral competition. The paper offers a dynamic view of the modern pastorate within the contemporary assemblages of power

Ética na pesquisa com crianças: ausências e desafios

Valendo-se da sociologia da infância, o texto discute as questões da infância, da pesquisa e da ética que devem enformar todos os procedimentos desencadeados no processo de pesquisa com crianças. Será inicialmente apresentado o estado da arte acerca das discussões que têm caraterizado esse debate, que, sendo recente, conta com uma significativa reflexão. Apresentamos, ainda, alguns desafios que são fundamentais serem enfrentados para que se consiga uma ética viável na investigação com crianças, que passam pela indispensabilidade de se pensar as questões de poder que se estabelecem entre adultos e crianças; que passam também pelo enfrentamento do desafio que decorre das hierarquias protocolares e a maneira como estas podem contribuir para a invisibilidade epistemológica das crianças na pesquisa; que passam, finalmente, por um questionamento crítico relativamente à forma como é salvaguardada a autoria, quer de crianças, quer de adultos, na análise, interpretação e produção dos dados.This paper discusses, from the sociology of childhood, the issues of childhood, research and ethics which must shape the methodological procedures undertaken in the research processes with children. We, firstly, will present the state-of-the-art theoretical discussions that have been characterizing this debate, which, although recent, are already very significant. We also present some challenges, which are essential to face, in order to achieve a feasible ethic in research with children, which are related to the need to think about the power issues between adults and children. We also have to consider that the challenge stems from the protocol hierarchies and how sometimes these can contribute to the epistemological invisibility of children in research. Finally, a third challenge that mobilizes a critical analysis related to the way issues of authorship of children and adult, in the analysis, interpretation and production of scientific texts, are respected.Valiéndose de la sociología en la infancia, el texto discute las cuestiones de la infancia, de la investigación y la ética que deben conformar todos los procedimientos desencadenados en el proceso de investigación con niños y niñas. En primer lugar se presenta el estado de la arte acerca de las discusiones que vienen caracterizando a tal debate, que aun siendo reciente, ya cuenta con una significativa reflexión. Presentamos también algunos de los desafíos que resulta fundamental afrontar para alcanzar una ética viable en la investigación con niños y niñas, que pasan por la obligada necesidad de pensar las cuestiones de poder que se establecen entre adultos y niños; que pasan también por el afrontamiento al desafío que resulta de las jerarquías protocolarias y la forma cómo estas pueden contribuir para la invisibilidad epistemológica de los niños y niñas en la investigación. Que pasan, por fin, por un cuestionamiento crítico en cuanto a la forma como se salvaguarda la autoría, ya sea de niños o de adultos, en el análisis, interpretación y producción de datos.CIEC - Centro de Investigação em Estudos da Criança, IE, UMinho (UI 317 da FCT), PortugalFundos Nacionais através da FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) e cofinanciado pelo Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) através do COMPETE 2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) no âmbito do CIEC (Centro de Investigação em Estudos da Criança, da Universidade do Minho) com a referência POCI-01-0145-FEDER-00756

Widening the Antimafia Net. Mafia Behaviour, Cultural Transmission and Children Protection in Calabrian mafia families

This article explores proceedings by the Youth Tribunal of Reggio Calabria, Southern Italy, aimed at the protection of children in families where one or both parents are investigated for mafia offences. The findings show that preventing the transmission of mafia (‘ndrangheta) culture in the local context has become an essential part of child protection measures. This article will argue that when discussing child protection in criminal families, it is necessary (a) to question the nature of the bonds of these families with the socio-cultural context, and (b) to concretely assess the way this context wishes to affect the family’s criminality

The making of the interprofessional arena in the United Kingdom: a social and political history

This article offers a critical sociological rendering of the making of the interprofessional arena in the United Kingdom. It offers an interpretation of the conditions that led to the formation, expansion and development of the interprofessional arena using a social worlds/arenas lens of secondary data. I propose that the making of the interprofessional arena has been achieved in three historiographical phases. First, the "recognition of the professionalisation conundrum" that led to the intuitive assumption that interprofessional education (IPE) could lead to improved collaboration in practice and improved outcomes. Second, the "legitimisation" of the interprofessional assumption through the development of networks, building consensus, nurturing an evidence base and negotiating with policymakers. Third, "Talking up and acting up" the interprofessional agenda by developing global communities of practice, pandering to a neoliberal agenda, disseminating exemplars of good practice and encouraging practical changes within diverse settings. Articulating these historical "moments" may allow us insights into the conditions that have created the contemporary interprofessional arena and offer us ways of considering how present conditions may re-shape the discourses that constitute the interprofessional arena of the future

Cloning, expression and nuclear localization of human NPM3, a member of the nucleophosmin/nucleoplasmin family of nuclear chaperones

BACKGROUND: Studies suggest that the related proteins nucleoplasmin and nucleophosmin (also called B23, NO38 or numatrin) are nuclear chaperones that mediate the assembly of nucleosomes and ribosomes, respectively, and that these activities are accomplished through the binding of basic proteins via their acidic domains. Recently discovered and less well characterized members of this family of acidic phosphoproteins include mouse nucleophosmin/nucleoplasmin 3 (Npm3) and Xenopus NO29. Here we report the cloning and initial characterization of the human ortholog of Npm3. RESULTS: Human genomic and cDNA clones of NPM3 were isolated and sequenced. NPM3 lies 5.5 kb upstream of FGF8 and thus maps to chromosome 10q24-26. In addition to amino acid similarities, NPM3 shares many physical characteristics with the nucleophosmin/nucleoplasmin family, including an acidic domain, multiple potential phosphorylation sites and a putative nuclear localization signal. Comparative analyses of 14 members of this family from various metazoans suggest that Xenopus NO29 is a candidate ortholog of human and mouse NPM3, and they further group both proteins closer with the nucleoplasmins than with the nucleophosmins. Northern blot analysis revealed that NPM3 was strongly expressed in all 16 human tissues examined, with especially robust expression in pancreas and testis; lung displayed the lowest level of expression. An analysis of subcellular fractions of NIH3T3 cells expressing epitope-tagged NPM3 revealed that NPM3 protein was localized solely in the nucleus. CONCLUSIONS: Human NPM3 is an abundant and widely expressed protein with primarily nuclear localization. These biological activities, together with its physical relationship to the chaparones nucleoplasmin and nucleophosmin, are consistent with the proposed function of NPM3 as a molecular chaperone functioning in the nucleus